Basket carrying cart



, April 23, 1-946.

H. l. SIDES 119d April 4, 1945- s Sheets-Sheet 1 mgmyroze. HaroZd Ifiadea;

April '23, 1946. H. l. SIDES 2,398,863

BASKET CARRYING CART Filed April 4, 1945 3' Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENZOR.jzczroZd Z Jadea,

April 23, 1946.

H. l. SIDES BASKET CARRYING CART Filed April 4, 1945 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Rm m IV m I V [fa "old I B'Y Patented Apr. 23, 1946 l ,zssssea V BASKE CBR C RT yHarold'I. Sides, Chicago, Ill.

.Ahelic p pr l ,Seria N0.'58$4'Z3 (cmsofiu) 11- Claims.

The Present i merltion r l te t mprovemen n ask carr sal s-0 th t e em ei Se rvice res". n whi h ebe ket Gaming sh lf i s mnorled m horizontalposition, embodying a n vel type of frame construction which can he made"either collapsible or xionqeollapsible.

leellepsihletype of frame and sphfil'feco lfitruction fereibesketparrying cart is .d iselosed ar d claimed ir my .c ow pendingapplication, 1 Serial No. 4 64;?12) (filed ;fNoyember. 6,"19 i2, Batent23 ;81 issued June j 5, 194 and one of the objects of the presentinvention is to provide an improved veonstn ;:tior of that type "ofpart.

fienerallmiit i an .o'biect of ep s i v ntion toproyide a'basketcarrying cart which is simple es well as d rablean d rigid inconstruction, economical of manufacture, and otherwise well suited tothe ppurpqseior which it is int nd v More sp ci cal en .pbje t' of hsent ventionis to provide e'baslget carrying cart of the p eb v me tione-,c9mpr sins a i d y onstructed frame'for holding e shelf in ba ketcerryingpositiqn and. having wheels carried within h low pa t 1 f theframe th a t r i l in a s g e strip Q su t ble ma erial pr vi in 91ipositely disposed sidebars and upper and lower n b lt "and e s ll s n e trp l PWl ill? a su portin sid bar I91 the fi s n med s d b rs th s o tsid bar b n Pu e u 1 t 'plan e dback 139? tsel with per l ns i paced anrtar l tl nshi p o id n "a Wheel u p t- Another phjeet or the nveniipnis to provide e artxefth' t ne r nd c lbed w han uxiliary basket carryirg @shelf a a t d detachably s e mounted u qn'thell pe h l v l i l h asari; the

xi ia she Q9 f l. i. r me sect on havg on ing memb rspne io w l chisdisposed ross one end herepf and h er f ich is in un e 'an i er np tns ac d a rt t b a against "the top arid bottom of -the first ner ed elac ss di en ee lzhe f t ux lia h f B of w s th e plq m i len dispos w rdtll e f chmem r-c mp i 50 p l e l i e ih rifr ln th p lllllne bsl' thhellllle- Re er 'ne lnq te pa ticu ar y t t dr win bvio s n w l n 1a chmi lyere :pqsitioned w th u perm st edges b s witlle h erm st ed es i tfirst nemegl strips, the "ihher Tfe es of the first named spac i'd apartflat str'ipS providing basket retaining surf aces.

S ll gafr oiher object pf-the i ver tioh, is .toi oyiderear brees Tier eeertoflthe type herein described shelving: supporting Sid? bars formeditem s n l ls lpw t po t bns insbwe'd a a rel lmshl P vidin -w lefi l ndit o ne hy'the remainingiliterrneqie te,portienpf the sinsles z pdn w ih the reierbre' es r l olic Said inte medi te P'Q flQ l ith the s p lline l ars.

'IO'the ob ects Her e )l er l l stend e .QI the nature an b i ts it ll ell ll efe ence should elied to the .iql wine illielail t. 1d l1i ti0m tk n i ion z ih the ,esqqlr pen iee 'g r w ng n U L1 is D 1$PB' t li 9 aba ket carrying cartcmilstriicted in accord a ee with the rin ples o theresent nven ion;

" ears e liqne Vi w of the ear o i e ke i ai l s cer is l Fi l ll he Wllh the ema y he 'is e sllel u R EHQ Y fra men ar portion qf'an upperbasket earrying shelf for such a "cart illustratirigemodifiedstructuraii arrangemen -Pa s and F 711$ e n rs e tlr .viev' flWe eeei l tlle mere p nls ic, gl l 'em li, et ill a b sket a ryinggqert. peetieular construction-ar d arrahgement of pa'itsiherein useclforpurposes of illustration shows a collapsible type of cart, the novelfeatures relating to collapsibility being covered in the above mentionedpatent application. While a collapsible type of cart is herein depicted,it should be understood that the invention is not confined to this typebut is equally applicable to other types of carts, such as thenon-collapsible kind, so that the invention should not be regarded aslimited in this respect.

In this cart, as in other similar types of carts, there is at least oneupper basket carrying'shelf generally indicated at II and Preferablyalso a lower basket carrying shelf generally indicated at I2, each ofwhich is supported in substantially horizontal position for use.

A rigidly constructed frame is generally indicated at I3 for holding oneor both of the shelves I I and I2 in basket carrying position. The frameI3 includes an upwardly and rearwardly inclined member comprising asingle strip of fiat metal of generally rectangular configuration, theends of which are connected together, as indicated generallyat I4, inany suitable manner, such as, by riveting, welding, or the like. Such aconstruction provides oppositely disposed sidebars I5, I5 and upper andlower end bars, the upper end bars providing a handle bar I6 and thelower end bar providing a wheel support and bumper bar indicatedgenerally at I1. Preferably, the bumper bar, as well as the handle, isrounded in cross secenhanced gripping characteristics to the handle. I

In this particular construction it will be seen that the lower part ofeach side bar I5, I5 is curved out of its plane to a horizontal positionas indicated at I8, I8 in order conveniently to provide supports forfront caster wheels I9, I9. The casters for the wheels are securedinside the angular corners provided by-the rectangularly shaped frame inany suitable manner such as by brackets 20, to position the shaft ofeach caster 2|, 2| inupright'position. While the frame I3 illustrates asingle stripof-metal it is contemplated that, under certainconditionswhere greater speed and facility of handling is desired inshaping such material in the presses utilizedfor that purpose, the framecan be made in two pieces suitably spliced together.

A second single strip of flat metaLindicated generally at 22, isutilized to provide a supporting structure for the frame I3 as well astheshelves II and I2. 'It will be seen that'the strip 22 provides sidebars 23, 23 andth'atfleachis curved rearwardly out ofits plane at. itslowerpart, as indicated generally at 24, 24, and then bentback uponitself with portions in spaced apart relationship as shown at 25, 25,each thereby providing a wheel support for wheels 26, 26., The spacedapart portions are connected by the remaining intermediate portion 21 ofthe single strip 23. The wheels 26, 26 preferably are each heldin'pivotal position by a bolt28, 28, held in" place by win'g nuts 29,29. I This type of construction is particularly advantageous in that anaxle running from one side of the cart to the other .to hold both of thewheels 26, 26 in mounted position is thereby eliminated.

The supporting side bars 23, 23, and the inter mediate lower portion '21between the wheels 26,

.25, are reinforced with respecti to eachfother by braces 30, 30. "Thesebraces can besecured at their ends to the respective supp rting sidebars23, 23 and lower-portions 21in any suitable manner such as, for example,by welding. This type of rigid construction insures a cart of greatstrength which will readily support more than the normal load carried byconventional upper shelves.

It will be seen that the basket carrying shelf is pivotally secured tothe upper end of the supporting side bars 23, 23 at 3|, 3|. Thesupporting side bars 23, 23 are pivotally attached to the side bars I5,I5 at 32, 32 in scissor-like fashion. The shelf II is held in horizontalposition by a cross bar'33 connected to the side bars I5, I5 which actsas a stop for the shelf. The ends of the lower shelf I2 are pivotallymounted to the supporting side bars 23, 23 at 34, 34. The forward end ofthe shelf I2 is prevented from dropping below horizontal position by across bar 35 which is connected to the side bars I5, I5. Toggle links36, 36 are pivotally secured to the sides of the lower shelf I2 at 31,31 at one end, and to the bars I5, I5 at 38, 38 at the other end.

To collapse the cart, the upper basket carrying shelf I I may first betilted upwardly into inverted position until the'handle bar I6 isdisposed within easy finger-grip distance of the forward end of theupper shelf II. The handle bar I6 and the forward cross bar of the shelfl I are'then grasped inthe operator's hand and squeezed together,whereupon the entire cart should fully. collapse into flattened out andreadilystackable position.

To set up the cart again, it is merely necessary to swing the lowercarrier-I2 downwardly into its horizontal position. This movement of thecarrier I2 will cause the side bars I5, I5 and the supporting bars 23,23 'of'theframe to open up. The upper basket carrying shelf II may thenbe swung downwardly into its horizontal position.

Another feature of the invention is the basket carrying shelfconstruction in which the rigidity feature provided by the side framesis more fully carried out. The basket carrying shelf I I, for example,is provided by spaced apart fiat strip portions 39, 39, also preferablyformed from a single piece of flat metal into generally U-shapedconfiguration. These strips are'joined by similar fiat strips lll whichare also positioned with their uppermost edges below the uppermost edgesof the strips 39, 39, and are secured in this position in any suitablemanner as by welding or the like. In this type of construction, with thesmaller strips positioned downwardly of the larger strips, there isprovided byv the inner faces of the larger strips 39, 39, a basketretaining surface. The same type of construction canbe applied to thelower basketcarrying shelf I2. It will beappreciated that in addition tothe basket retaining surfaces which are provided by the arrangement ofthe parts the edgewise positioning of the strip provides for greatstrength and further enhances the rigidity characteristic of the cart.Inv the modified form of shelf. illustrated in Fig. 6, strips 40 aredipped downwardly soas to reach a point even further belo'w theuppermost edges of the strips '39. 39, but. are given a twist throughouttheir span so as to bring the flat portion into vertical position. Bylowering the strips even further in thismanner, the basketretaining'characteristics of the strips 39, 39,'are 'considerablyenhanced. A further important feature -isthe auxiliary shelf illustratedin Figs. 3, 4 and 5. This shelf comprises side framesections 4|, llvhaving a connecting member disposed across one end indicated generallyat 42, and another connecting member inwardlyof the latter indicatedgenerally at 43 and preferably at about an intermediate point across theframe sections 4|, 6|. Prefer :ket carrying shelf 1 i. ,drop downto the:dotted line position. By this manualmanipuiation the auxiliarysshelfcan be .a'dvance'dito the position indicated in Fig. 5. .By

masses n l tatemm s-of the-star of th nventi n w h. as a mat er obessidi .fall thcrebetween. J

ably, also, further reinforcing members indicated generally at maybeg-utilized. These constitute strap, or fiat piece of metaldfi inedgewise position connecting theframe sections Al, Al.Further-bracingthe'stripdo at an intermediate point tothe forward endofthe frame is astrip of fiat/metal d6. Itrwilhbe seen that the spacedapart imember dazconsists of upper and tion with the upper basketcarrying shelf and the lower .ibasket carrying :sh'elf l2.

Referring now to the upper spaced apartcmem- :ber :d2, it will be seenthat itfhas its upper spaced apart .portion l'lxoutwardly projecting andcentrally depressed. Also, it is spaced a distance upwardly from thelower portion At which is less than; theavi'dth of the forward end-=35.of the upper basket carrying shelf H. This provides an engaging .anddisengaging hook for :the auxiliary -shel'f'l1 all as more fullyindicated inFigs. 4 and 5, whereby the same can bemanipulated into theposition indicated from the solid line'tozthe dotted line position shown.in Fig. 4 by hookingtthe auxiliaryxshelf to the forward end 2'39.of'the'bas- This permits the shelf to means of the spaced apart member14.3, theauxiliarylshelf is heldin the projecting position in- :dicatedinFig. 5.

When the auxiliary shelf is in the position indicated in Fig. 5, theupper and lower spacedapart portions s1 and 48 of the member l2, and theupper and lower spaced apart portions Q9 and oil of the member 43,respectively bear against the top and bottom of the upper basketcarrying shelf H across different areas in such a manner as rigidly tohold the same in basket carrying position.

It is important to observe that the auxiliary shelf should be of a widthapproximately the length of the basket carrying shelf H and of a lengthapproximately twice the width thereof. By this construction at least twobaskets of a size adapted to be accommodated by the shelf l I, or thelower shelf !2, can be carried by the auxiliary shelf. At least threebaskets can therefore be carried with the present type ofconstructionutilizing the auxiliary shelf. However, where only two baskets arefilled by a customer they can both be carried on the upperbasketcarrying shelf i when the auxiliary shelf is used and it is unnecessaryfor them constantly to be stooping down to reach a lower basketordinarily carried on the lower shelf l2.

It will thus be seen that the objects hereina wheel support.

.-;Having;described my invention, what I; claim as new ndidesir rt se ue by L e s a n tnkaba ketca r nsre t a pe s h s ha u e ir self-se v cstor s-in hi h a ba ket carrying shel-f is supported in substantiallyhorio tal p ti n. the impr v m coms s s rigidly constructed frame forholding said shelf inibasket carrying position and having Wheels carriedwithin the-lower part of the frame, said frame including asinglestrip pidin pp sitelydisposed asidepbar-s -.and :upper and "lowerendbars,.:said-enpperuendxbar.proniding a'handle bar for said cart andisaidlower end] bar ;:providingm wheel support, rand a secondsinglestrip providing a .asupporting side bar-for said first named sideher, :said supporting sidebar being curved out of its: plane andbackuponitself with portions in spaced apart relationship providing 2. .Inabaskettcarrying cast of the type employed m self-service stores,inwhich at least one basket carryingshelriis supported in substantiallyhorizontal positiomthe improvement comprising a rigidlyconstructed-frame for holding said shelf in basket carrying position andhaving wheels carried-within the lowerpart of theframe, said frameincluding a single stripwhose ends are. I connected together providingoppositely disposed side bars and upper "and lower end bars, said upperend bar providing handle: bar for said cart and said lowerend barproviding a wheel support,

and a second single isjtripproviding supporting shelf each supportingside bar being curved out of its plane and back upon itself withportions in spaced apart relationshipprov-iding a wheel support andconnected by the remaining portion of the second single strip.

3. In a basket carrying cart of the type used in self-service stores, inwhich at least one basket carrying shelf is supported in substantiallyhori zontal position, the improvement comprising a rigidly constructedframe for holding said shelf in basket carrying position and havingwheels carried within the lower part of the frame, said frame includingan upwardly and rearwardly inclined member comprising a single strip ofgenerally rectangular configuration providing oppositely disposed sidebars and upper and lower end bars, said upper end bar providing a handlebar for said cart and each of said side bars being curved out of itsplane to horizontal position providing a wheel support, and a secondsingle strip providing supporting side bars for said first named sidebars, each supporting side bar being curved out of its plane and backupon itself with portions in spaced apart relationship providing a wheelsupport and connected by the remaining intermediate portion of thesecond single strip.

4. A cart of the character defined by claim 3,-

and wherein said supporting side bars and said remaining intermediateportion of the second single strip are braced with respect to each otherby reinforcing strips connecting the same.

5. A cart of the character defined by claim 3, and wherein the basketcarryingshelf is provided by spaced apart fiat strip portions positionedwith a narrow edge uppermost, said strips being joined by similar stripsagainst their flat inner surfaces and similarly being positioned withthe uppermost edges of the last named strip below the uppermostedges ofsaid first named strips, the inner faces of the spaced apart first namedflat strips providing basket retaining surfaces.

6. In a basket carrying cart of the type employed in self-servicestores, in which at least one basket carrying shelf is supported insubstantially horizontal position, the improvement comprising anauxiliary basket carrying shelf adapted detachably to be mounted uponsaid first named shelf, which includes frame sections having connectingmembers, one of which is disposed across one end thereof and the otherof which is disposed inwardly thereof, each member comprising upper andlower portions spaced apart to bear against the top and bottom of saidfirst named shelf across different areas thereof, said auxiliary shelfbeing of a width approximately the length of said first named shelf andof a length approximately twice the width thereof, whereby at least twobaskets of a size adapted to be accommodated by said first named shelfcan be carried by said auxiliary shelf.

7. An auxiliary basket carrying shelf according to the character of thatdefined by claim 6,

and wherein the frame sections are composed of fiat strips with a narrowedge uppermost with the upper spaced apart portions of said connectingmembers being below said uppermost edges, whereby the inner flat facesof said sidev frame sections provide basket retaining surfaces.

8.'An auxiliary basket carrying shelf according to the character of thatdefined by claim 6, and wherein said end connecting member has its upperspaced apart portion outwardly projecting and centrally depressed, andspaced a distance from the lower spaced apart portion which is less thanthe width of the forward end of said first mentioned shelf, whereby toprovide an engaging and disengaging hook for said auxiliary shelf and toprevent separation of said shelves except by manual adjustment.

9. In a basket carrying cart of a type such as that used in self-servicestores, in which a basket carrying shelf issupported in substantiallyhorizontal position, the improvement comprising a rigidly constructedframe for holding said shelf in basket carrying position and havingwheels carried within the lower part of the frame, said frame includinga single strip providing oppositely disposed side bars and upper andlower end bars, said upper end bar providing a handle bar for said cartand said lower end bar providing a wheel support, said handle bar beingrounded in cross section to provide a handle grip and said lower end baralso being rounded in cross section to provide a bumper, and both saidrounded bars thereby providing transverse strengthening members for saidcart.

10. In a cart wherein a basket carrying shelf is supported inbasketcarrying position, the improvement comprising a frame for holdingthe shelf in said position, which frame is supported on wheels, saidframe including two oppositely disposed but connected side bars whichconstitute asingle continuous member bent back upon itself at the bottomof each of said side bars with portions thereof in spaced apartrelation, each of which spaced portions rotatably support between themone of said wheels.

11. In a cart wherein a basket carryin shelf is supported in basketcarrying position, the improvement comprising a frame for holding theshelf in said position, which frame is supported on wheels, said framehaving spaced parallel side members, each of said side members beingprovided at its lower end with a loop portion which encompasses one ofthe wheels and forms a support at opposite sides of the wheel forrotatably mounting the same, said loop extending beyond the periphery ofthe wheel.

HAROLD I. SIDES.

